The strings of an electric guitar or other stringed instrument are attached at one end to a bridge on the body of the instrument, and at the other end to a tuning mechanism on the head of the instrument (in the case of an electric guitar, a geared mechanism that is commonly referred to as the tuning machine). While there has been much attention to improving the guitar's performance by redesigning the tuning machines, the nut, and the bridge system, little has been done to the headstock to improve the acoustic performance of the instrument. U.S. Pats. Nos. 4,197,779 (Holman); 2,128,460 (Harlin); 2,029,134 (Stanley); 548,475 (Streicher); 1,409,064 (Richter) and 4,576,080 (McLellan) are deemed representative of such prior art efforts. In particular, the prior art did not recognize the acoustic benefits of provding a headplate thicker and/or denser than merely required to support the tuning mechanism.